Gareth Rayner is bringing home the bacon after winning a number of awards for his British-inspired cuisine
Gareth Rayner has been at the helm of the kitchen in The Coach House since it opened its doors – and his palate pleasers celebrate British dishes.
The restaurant, located in the grounds of Middleton Lodge in North Yorkshire – launched in October 2014 and Gareth has led his team to earn a strong reputation in the industry.
“We received 2 AA Rosettes, 5 AA Gold Stars and were recommended in the Michelin Food Guide for both 2015 and 2016, consecutively,” said Gareth, who has also been instrumental in helping the restaurant with rooms receive further recognition from the hotel industry.
It won New Hotel of the Year, as part of the Good Hotel Guide, Newcomer of the Year from Alistair Sawdays, Sunday Telegraph’s Top Ten Hotels for 2014, Mail on Sunday’s Top Five Most Romantic Hotels and Sunday Time’s Top Ten Country Hotels.
But it’s Gareth’s menu that’s celebrated and recognised among foodies, and he and his team of five change it with the seasons.
“We focus on locally-sourced, high-quality produce and ingredients,” said Gareth, who where possible uses produce sourced from the grounds of the Georgian country estate.
Some of Gareth’s renowned dishes include chargrilled broccoli with Jerusalem artichoke, Iberico bellota, hazelnuts and aged parmesan or his rhubarb and custard cheesecake with rhubarb sorbet. His personal favourite is the roast cod dish, with a potato risotto, beer vinegar and cabbage.
But he also likes to experiment with flavours and textures and at a recent tasting evening, his horseradish ice cream on a bed of beetroot tartare went down a storm.
“It’s great to have nights like that. You get to work with different favours and see what guests enjoy,” said Gareth, whose sea trout with squid ink and pea purée also proved a hit.
His responsibilities aren’t just in the kitchen and Gareth also plays an important part in the building and planting of the restored Kitchen Gardens. The gardens are set to launch next Spring and Gareth and his team will pick their daily fruit and vegetable produce straight from the estate.
Gareth said: “It’s such an exiting venture and we are now one-step closer to our ‘estate to plate philosophy.’
